Innocence
by SaiyanWarrior200
Summary: Naruto finds himself with a chance to eliminate Orochimaru at his most helpless and vulnerable state and change everything that has happened. Can he do it and ignore his heart and forget the fact that even he was at one point Innocent? Read and Review please.


He stared down at the tiny form laying in the small crib, his eyes closed as he slept unaware of what was going on, the blonde looking on as he saw the babe's chest raise and fall as it breathed softly.

This is it…this was what he had came he for. What he had been assigned to do, he only had one chance and he did not know how long the Jutsu would last. For all he knew his time could end up at any given moment and send him back. He looked down at the sleeping form of what was the person he hated most in all the world.

"C'mon I have to do this, I got no choice." He said to himself and forced his features to harden realizing what it meant, The Jutsu could only be used once by a person and only due to his healing factor had it survived the ordeal and it had sent him to the past. He had found himself back in Konoha nearly sixty years in the past, how different the Leaf Village looked from before. It was nothing like the place he had known, there was no carved figures of The Hokages, no air of peace and tranquility, nothing like he had known before.

This was his chance, he could change the present and perhaps the entire world if he did what he had been assigned to do. It was an S Class mission he had been assigned and Tsunade had been reluctant to let him use it as the Jutsu was dangerous as even one small thing could change everything.

If he did this, there would be no Cursed Seal, Sasuke wouldn't have left in his mad pursuit of power, Sarutobi would be able to live the last of his days in peace, and all the other people who had been infected by him would live better lives.

He looked down as he watched the sleeping Orochimaru, that's who the infant was. The infamous man was now only a sleeping baby, as he found himself in the past and knew what needed to be done. He had to do this, there was no other way.

He looked and gritted his teeth as he saw Orochimaru unaware of his peril turn over in his sleep and let out a sigh. Naruto reached down and tugged away the blanket. The infant frowned and tossed his head a bit feeling the loss of warmth.

(C'mon Naruto, you have to do this, don't let him fool you.) He thought to himself and reached and took out a kunai. (I know he's only a baby now, but he will grow up and be the source of all the problems!) He looked over the baby and raised the Kunai overhead.

He took a deep breath and looked down at him again.

He hesitated…

Despite it he could not bring himself to plunge it down onto him and end his life. As if a greater force from above was holding his arm in place. He couldn't understand it, he had begged Tsunade to let him do it and now he was hesitating. This WAS Orochimaru! A cruel heartless monster who was responsible for the deaths and pain of thousands of people! He was responsible for Sarutobi's death and Sasuke's descent into madness. In a way he was responsible for everything bad that had happened! He had to do it! He had to kill him!

But for some reason he couldn't find himself able to do it. He had gotten a disguise when he had arrived back in the past and had bumped into a younger Sarutobi and almost called him Old Man and gave himself away. He had blended in with the crowd and kept an eye out. To his surprise he had spotted Orochimaru, recognizing him instantly. But to his surprise he didn't expect him to be a baby, not even a year old being carried around by his Mother who he could tell was how he got his pale skin. He had spied on them and he saw his mother go to his family's house and put him in a crib and the child had fallen asleep. Naruto took that opportunity to sneak in and make his way to his room.

And now he found himself unable to finish the job.

"What is wrong with me? I have to do this!" He said to himself as he looked on as the baby still slept. "It's the only way…" He repeated but found himself unable to believe it.

When he was spying on them he had spotted something in Orochimaru's eyes he never thought he would see.

Innocence…

He had seen innocence in the baby's eyes. A child that hadn't experienced pain and sadness. Anger and agony that he would later go through in his life.

"He's innocent now, he has yet to be touched by that which made him into a monster." He said gritting his teeth as he held the Kunai above him still. No! He couldn't think like that! He had to do it!

But what would happen if he did it? Would he be no better than him for killing a baby? Naruto when he had killed it had been those who had deserved it, those who had done evil deeds. Now, now was different. This was no smug ninja who could defend himself and gloated over his superiority and skill, this was a helpless child. He may grow up into becoming the greatest threat in the known world but now…now he wasn't evil.

He could feel that his time was running out, he had to make his choice now!

He gripped the kunai as tight as he could and felt his knuckles turn white from grabbing it so tightly. He looked down as he saw Orochimaru still sleeping, all it would take is a quick movement to do it. But as he watched him he felt himself unable to bring himself to do it. Killing a baby…could he really do it? Would he be any better than him for doing it?

As if in a robotic state he felt his hand lower away from the crib and down to his side. He felt himself starting to fade away as the time was over. He looked at the baby one last time and let out a resigned sigh and closed his eyes as he faded from view.

Orochimaru, the future Sannin still slept peacefully in his crib. Unaware that his life could've been prematurely cut short just now.

In the present…

"What happened Naruto?" Tsunade asked looking at the boy who had his head down not looking her in the face. "Did something go wrong?"

Naruto slowly lifted his head up and looked her in the eyes.

"I couldn't…I couldn't do it."

A/N: that's it for this story. Review please.

And before any of you scoff at Naruto and call him a weakling over not killing him put yourself in his position. Could you have done it? Could you have gone through with killing a Baby?


End file.
